NWPM Michigan Portfolio Project

Tuesday, Session 2: 10:30 - 12:00
Auditorium

Facilitated by:
  • Dick Koch, OWP
  • Troy Hicks, CRWP

Purposes and Power in the Use of Portfolios

Links

Notes from Session
  • Reactions to Dick's Portfolio Writing Assessment Documents
    • What is the potential that is lost?
    • Year-round school prompt on the ACT -- good example of a prompt gone bad
    • The short, timed writing prompt has become very big for test makers, but it disadvantages writers
    • We all assume that we know what good writing is when we see it -- actually, it is a lifetime process and learning to appreciate writing takes a long time
    • Assessment is coming from the outside, not from teachers -- how am I going to tell those stakeholders that there are other measures (how do we break the current reality? how can we teach teachers to work on this from the inside?)
    • We have to work with teachers and students to understand the context of different writing tasks, including writing on demand
    • Peter Elbow -- what is a portfolio? It is a pocket, a folder. Students put into it what they choose to put into it.
    • We need to engage in the writing-on-demand process so that we understand what our students are going through in the process
  • Where do we want to go with the Michigan Portfolios site via NWPM?
    • Exploring more with rubrics
    • Creating models for electronic portfolios: posting and reflecting on "traditional" writing portfolios, just stored online as well as having examples of multimodal composition
    • Emphasis on the reflection aspects of the portfolio
    • Would like to see more resources for producing digital portfolios ("how to" resources)
    • Acting as a clearing house for portfolio resources
    • Getting more examples of MS, HS, and college work
    • Add links to the Looking at Student Work Protocols
    • Create a video of teachers talking about student work
    • Creating timely and updated content related to portfolio assessment
    • Examples of work from other content areas

More notes from session:
Dick Koch, OWP
Troy Hicks, WP
Michigan Portfolios of Michigan
· www.michiganportfolios.org
· What you like about site, curious about, confused about
· NWPM in January 2010 gave okay to work on
· The Portfolio Guidebook – coauthored
· Site is still in development
· Set up to help people not experts in portfolio work to help them
· Will be dynamic!
· Envision a video window – teacher practice, student work
· Assessment in this country – Univeristy of Minnesota, the brothers Johnson, cooperative learning: the function of school – to meet the needs of the learner
· Under guidance of previous statement – assessment must exist to lift the student towards learning
· School = the great equalizer – democratic idea behind it
· We are breaking the trust – through assessment
· Assessment is irresponsibly reducing student opportunity
· How can you not love this man!
· AHIMSA = nonviolence
· There is an outer and an inner AHIMSA
· Teachers are masters of outer AHIMSA
· It is within our capacity to make change
· Portfolio is a tool we can use to alter that
· Don Graves book on portfolios
· Portfolios: document and showcase student writers and growth
· The power it provides to reflection
· James Moffett – being really good at something is attributed to practice
· Troy Hicks
· Digital modalities of students
· Read page 1 & 2
· There are so many untapped resources that students bring to us – the loss of potential
· Writing for a little while to be judged! You are never asked to do that in real life.
· A lifetime process to find out what is “good” writing?
· Re-enfranchising teachers into writing to give them agency and identity
· Assessment comes from the outside – not from teachers
· MEAP creates anxiety for teachers and students – why does society value this type of writing? Results are printed in newspapers.
· Teaching MEAP as a genre of writing – RAFTS
· Teach students how to live within the constraints of MDE
· Nurturing, supportive, coaching environments
· State assessments devalue real writing!
· Authentic projects, saving over time
· What will you put in your portfolio? It is your best work. What you think is your best work. What showcases you as a writer?
· Portfolio – is a careful collection
· Frank Sarafini –
· Assessments are in the hands of the government
· Educators have not been able to take back assessment
· I liked this, I wish it had this, I suggest this….

Looking at website
· How do I collect students work electronically? How will I organize that? Scanning vs. uploading
· How do I make portfolios more than just a folder of collected work – to give students ownership and autonomy over the process and reflection
· Check out parent permission letter on site
· Need to use this in my response to student writing this year: PQP – Positive Response Protocol
· Rubrics are not a coaching tool. Rating is not response. Don’t oversubscribe to a rubric.
· Access and purpose of the site:
· I could video my response to student work and send that to be put on the site
· Use this in pd sessions at lo for district work – facilitate!
· http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/PolicyResearch/WrtgResearchBrief.pdf
· Email Troy and Dick my thoughts. We are invited in!
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